Stonebrook Private Inc. Invests $1.85 Million in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Stonebrook Private Inc. bought a new position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 11,245 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $1,848,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,576,948 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $369,070,000 after purchasing an additional 52,864 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,290,224 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $328,006,000 after purchasing an additional 200,342 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,968,301 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $323,392,000 after purchasing an additional 134,098 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,669,789 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $239,148,000 after purchasing an additional 202,139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,639,513 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $234,811,000 after purchasing an additional 9,232 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.3 %

DRI stock traded down $0.44 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $156.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 886,615 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,153,157. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.39. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $164.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $159.53. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $133.36 and a 1 year high of $176.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.30, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.25.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The restaurant operator reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.63 by ($0.01). Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.94% and a net margin of 9.24%. The business had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.34 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, March 21st that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is currently 61.43%.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other news, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total value of $192,857.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,281 shares in the company, valued at $993,717.01. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 6,831 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.26, for a total transaction of $1,115,229.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,141 shares in the company, valued at $3,124,959.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total value of $192,857.99. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,281 shares of the company's stock, valued at $993,717.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,430 shares of company stock valued at $3,313,120 over the last quarter. 0.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on DRI. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $192.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $186.00 to $182.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $178.85.

Darden Restaurants Profile

Darden Restaurants, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates full-service restaurants in the United States and Canada. It operates under Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen, Yard House, The Capital Grille, Seasons 52, Bahama Breeze, Eddie V's Prime Seafood, and Capital Burger brand names.